Business and Finance

Apple confirms plans to build second store in Taiwan

Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 24 May, 2019
By: Jake Chen

Apple confirms plans to build second store in Taiwan. (CNA Photo)

US electronics giant Apple confirmed on Friday that it will launch a second Apple Store in Taiwan. The new store will be located in the Xinyi District of downtown Taipei.

The building’s exterior is shaped like a large MacBook computer, with the same metallic finish. Apple’s announcement confirms speculation that the new building could be intended to house a new Apple Store.

Though the new store will sit close to the Taiwan’s first Apple Store in Taipei 101, Apple says the new store’s opening will not affect business at its first Taiwanese branch.
[FULL  STORY]

HTC to ship 5G smart hub in U.S. market at end of May

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/24
By:  Central News Agency

Taipei (CNA) – Taiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp. said Friday that it will start to

HTC is betting on 5G to revive its fortunes (By Central News Agency)

ship the first-of-its-kind 5G mobile smart hub in the U.S. market at the end of May as it bets on 5G to help it revive its sagging fortunes.

HTC said Sprint, one of the major telecom carriers in the U.S. market, started pre-sale orders for the Taiwanese brand’s 5G hub on May 17 in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City, where the 5G hub is compatible with Sprint’s technology. Shipments will begin on May 31.

Over the next few weeks, HTC’s 5G hub will go on sale in other U.S. cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and Washington for use in Sprint’s 5G network.

HTC has also made inroads into the Australian 5G market as the 5G hub has been available through the online channel of telecom operator Telstra since May 22, the smartphone brand said.    [FULL  STORY]

EVA Air, union negotiations stall due to lack of trust

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/24
By: Lee Hsin-Yin 

Taipei, May 24 (CNA) Talks between EVA Air and the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union (TFAU) over flight attendant pay and work hours and corporate governance issues failed to reach common ground on Friday after both sides accused each other of acting in bad faith.

Following a meeting delayed by two hours due to squabbling over whether it should be broadcast live, the union said the airline addressed very few of its demands.

The management’s proposals were basically the same as those discussed during their last round of negotiations in April, which broke down and prompted a vote on whether EVA flight attendants should go on strike, a TFAU representative said.

Despite the disappointing outcome, the two sides agreed to meet again on May 29.
[FULL  STORY]

DGBAS lowers GDP growth forecast

SILVER LINING: A side effect of the US-China trade war is dozens of Taiwanese firms applying to relocate their manufacturing back to Taiwan, lifting private investment

Taiei Times
Date: May 25, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday cut its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year to 2.19 percent, from a 2.27 percent estimate in February, as exports proved weaker last quarter and private consumption failed to lend support.

Poor economic data warranted the downward revision after the decline in exports turned out to be deeper than expected, DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told a news conference.

The nation’s export-reliant economy expanded 1.71 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, slower than the 1.72 percent annual increase the agency reported on April 30.

Exports, equivalent to 60 percent of domestic GDP, are now expected to remain in the negative for the entire year, rather than eking out fractional growth, after Washington on May 10 raised tariffs on an additional US$20 billion of Chinese goods, the agency said in a report.    [FULL  STORY]

Travel agents demand compensation for surprise flight cancellations

Formosa News
Date: 2019/05/23

Travel agencies are demanding that Far Eastern Air Transport airline pay compensation for abruptly canceling a string of Asia flights. Last week the carrier announced suspension of eight routes for the rest of May, saying that otherwise it would exceed its flight-hour limit set by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. According to travel agents, the carrier has asked travelers to go to the agents directly for fare refunds. Tour operators said today they were being forced to pay for the airline’s mistake. They also blasted the CAA for allowing the situation to unfold.

Members of the tourism industry decried this month’s last-minute flight cancellations by Far Eastern Air Transport. They say they’ve been burdened with the cost of refunds for travelers left out in the lurch.

Yao Ta-kuang
Tour sector representative
The relationship between airlines and the tourism industry is that of a partnership. They are as close as lips and teeth. The situation now is that you’ve cut your lip – and you’re about to bite off your tongue! Is the CAA supervising? Is it counting up the hours? The carrier told the CAA in advance that it was about to exceed its flight hour limit. If we had known, we wouldn’t have taken on more tourists, and there would be no damages.
[FULL  STORY]

Miss Asia beauty pageant to be held in Kaohsiung for first time

The final will take place at the city’s Jubilee Hall and is attracting entrants from all over Asia

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/23
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The final of Miss Asia Taiwan competition 2018. (Miss Asia photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Miss Asia 2019 will be held in Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung for the first time, Liberty Times Net reported on Thursday (May 23).

The organizer of Miss Asia said the Taiwan regional competition is accepting online registrations via the official website. Unmarried women aged between 16 and 30, childless and at least 163 centimeters tall are qualified to register, according to the report.    [FULL  STORY]

EVA Air, flight attendants union to restart negotiations

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/23
By: Lee Hsin-Yin 
Taipei, May 23 (CNA) EVA Air, one of Taiwan’s two major airlines, will restart negotiations with the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union (TFAU) Friday, after their last round of talks broke down in April, prompting an ongoing vote by union members on whether EVA Air flight attendants will go on strike.

It is hoped that a three-hour negotiation starting at 5:30 p.m. will address issues raised by the union, which mainly focus on salary, work hours and corporate governance, TFAU Deputy Secretary-General Chou Sheng-kai (周聖凱) told CNA.

“We are trying to create a working environment that is more friendly for flight attendants, and most of the improved conditions we are negotiating for are already enjoyed by China Airlines (CAL) flight attendants,” Chou said, referring to the other major airline in Taiwan, whose flight attendants went on strike in 2016.

Chou said the union is asking that allowances for EVA Air flight attendants when off work in overseas destinations be raised from NT$90 (US$3) to NT$150 per hour per flight, but insisted that such benefits not apply to non-union flight attendants.    [FULL  STORY]

TSMC to continue supplying Huawei

US SANCTIONS: The chipmaker said it conducts due diligence on every product it exports to make sure it is in compliance with international trade regulations

Taipei Times
Date: May 24, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter, in Hsinchu

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it would

The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is pictured during an investors’ conference in Taipei on April 13, 2017.
Photo: Reuters

continue supplying wafers and technologies to Huawei Technologies Co (華為) as its exports are in full compliance with international trade rules, despite the US’ latest sanctions on the Chinese firm.

The chipmaker’s move came as a slew of global firms followed the lead of Aphabet Inc’s Google in cutting ties with the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker after Washington put Huawei on a blacklist.

TSMC, which counts Huawei among its top clients, said that it is the company’s long-term practice to conduct due diligence on every product it exports to make sure it is in compliance with international trade rules.

“Based on our due diligence, we do not anticipate any major changes in how we ship wafers and how we deliver technologies to this client,” TSMC spokesperson Elizabeth Sun (孫又文) said on the sidelines of the chipmaker’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s top telecoms to stop selling Huawei smartphones

Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile have decided not to sell Chinese company Huawei’s devices after they sell out
 
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/05/22
By: Judy Lo, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

(By Associated Press)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Two of Taiwan’s major wireless carriers, Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) and Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大), confirmed on Wednesday (May 22) they will not sell Huawei devices after stock sells out, reported Central News Agency.

The news comes as Google is set to quit supporting Huawei’s Android operating system. Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile confirmed they will stop selling Huawei smartphones, while other wireless service providers will wait and see.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce placed Huawei on its so-called “Entity List,” restricting U.S. firms from selling Huawei technology without government approval.

Google said it would continue to support existing Huawei smartphones but future devices wouldn’t have the company’s apps and services, such as maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Chrome. Only basic services would be available, making Huawei phones less attractive.
[FULL  STORY]

Jobless rate down slightly at 3.67% in April

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/22
By: Pan Tsu-yu and Frances Huang

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) The jobless rate for April fell slightly from a month earlier to 3.67 percent, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Wednesday.

After seasonal adjustments, however, the local unemployment rate for April rose 0.01 percent from a month earlier to 3.73 percent, marking the second consecutive month of a higher seasonally adjusted jobless rate.

Pan Ning-hsin (潘寧馨), deputy director of the DGBAS census department, said that the higher seasonally adjusted unemployment rate over the past two months reflected an economic slowdown.

Pan said, however, that the increase remained tolerable.    [FULL  STORY]